Montreal’s recent five-game stretch had another ugly performance in there but there were several numbers that have things pointing in the right direction for the Habs.

The Habs were in Pittsburgh on Thursday for Jacob Fowler’s NHL debut. The netminder was ready for the task, giving the visitors some steady goaltending. Meanwhile, Montreal’s offence gave him ample support, allowing the Canadiens to get the 4-2 win.

Another busy week kicked off at the Bell Centre on Tuesday as the Habs hosted Tampa Bay. The Lightning, despite playing on Monday, were the more energized team from the drop of the puck and kept their foot on the gas, picking up the 6-1 win.

The start to December was a mixed bag for the Habs. They had a pair of strong games that led to wins but also had a rough one to start the week while some lapses cost them their last game as well.

The Habs looked to take both ends of the first of several back-to-back weekend sets as they hosted St. Louis on Sunday. However, an early second-period collapse proved costly, helping the Blues eventually pick up the 4-3 win.

The Habs haven’t had much success during the regular season in Toronto in recent years. While they led for a good chunk of the game, they lost the lead in the third but still managed to snap their winless drought at Scotiabank Arena with a 2-1 shootout victory.

The first quarter of the season was a lot better for the Habs standings-wise than it was in 2024-25. Not surprisingly, that resulted in some strong grades from our writers when it came to their forwards.

Topics in our latest podcast include Mike Matheson’s recent contract extension, Alexandre Carrier’s recent struggles, Nick Suzuki’s chances of playing for Canada at the Olympics, and much more.

Montreal’s first quarter of the season featured plenty of ups and downs but they weren’t in a bad spot when it came to an end. Our opening quarter grades begin as always with the goalies and defencemen.

As we pass the one-quarter mark of the season, some of Montreal’s early-season variances have started to become more of a consistent pattern. Some of that is good, some of it, not so much.